Report: Deputy shot boy before partner left car

Report: Deputy shot boy before partner left car

October 31st, 2013 in News

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - A 13-year-old boy was fatally wounded by a California sheriff's deputy before a second officer was able to get out of a patrol vehicle and take cover, investigators said, bolstering accounts of just how quickly the shooting occurred.

The trainee remained behind the wheel of the cruiser while Deputy Erick Gelhaus confronted Andy Lopez on Oct. 22 carrying a pellet gun that resembled an assault rifle, Santa Rosa police Lt. Paul Henry told the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa in a story Tuesday.

In a matter of seconds, Gelhaus ordered the boy to drop the weapon then opened fire before the trainee could take cover behind an open door of the car, Henry said.

The trainee's account bolsters eyewitness reports and dispatch records that only 10 seconds or so elapsed between Gelhaus confronting the boy and the shooting.

"Deputy Gelhaus was able to engage more quickly because he didn't have to drive the vehicle," Henry told the newspaper.

The FBI, Santa Rosa Police Department and Sonoma County prosecutors are investigating the shooting. The FBI is looking into whether any federal civil rights violations occurred.

Investigators have said Gelhaus feared for his safety after Lopez turned around and allegedly raised the pellet gun in his direction. Gelhaus fired eight times, striking the eighth- grader seven times with his department-issued 9 mm handgun.

The Press-Democrat reported that Lopez was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, but the hood was down and Lopez was not wearing earphones when ordered to drop the gun.

Gelhaus is a 24-year veteran of the department. He previously served in Iraq in the Army and was a certified training officer with the department.

Henry said it appears Gelhaus and his partner encountered Lopez about 3 p.m. as he walked down a street. Gelhaus told investigators that he could not remember if he identified himself as a police officer before firing.

Gelhaus tried CPR and other life-saving measures after the shooting, the newspaper said.

"When he touched the weapon and briefly looked at it, felt that it wasn't the proper weight and looked different, that was when he first began to suspect it was a replica firearm," Henry told the paper.